The group behind the REvil ransomware strain have threatened to release confidential Apple hardware schematics unless the tech giant, or its supplier, pays a sizeable ransom fee.
The notorious group claims to have breached the Taiwanese firm Quanta Computer, one of the biggest hardware manufacturers in the world, making away with the blueprints of various Apple products.
In a message posted on the dark web, the group said Quanta refused to pay the ransom to reclaim their stolen data and as a result, the hackers had decided to extort Apple instead, according to the Record.
The REvil group posted 21 screenshots depicting MacBook schematics as proof for the infiltration and threatened to release new blueprints every day until either Apple or Quanta pay the demand.
“In order not to wait for the upcoming Apple presentations, today, we, the REvil group, will provide data on the upcoming releases of the company so beloved by many,” the hackers’ note said.
RELATED RESOURCE
The business guide to ransomware
Everything you need to know to keep your company afloat
“Tim Cook can say thank you Quanta. From our side, a lot of time has been devoted to solving this problem. Quanta has made it clear to use that it does not care about the data of its customers and employees, thereby allowing the publication and sale of all data we have.”
They also claimed to be negotiating with “several major brands” to sell this data, presumably many of Quanta Computer’s clients, while setting a 1 May deadline for Apple to “buy back” the confidential and personal data. Quanta Computer serves a handful of major companies including Microsoft and HP.
The announcement was made to coincide with the major Apple launch event in which the firm released a slew of new products. The ‘Spring Loaded’ event saw the company launch an M1-powered iMac with a 4.5K Retina display, a new iPad Pro also fitted with the M1 chip as well as purple iPhone 12 variants alongside other minor launches.
The highly active ransomware gang most recently targeted the Harris Federation academy trust of 48 schools based across London in the UK. This led to 37,000 students being locked out of their emails and coursework. Acer also fell victim to a record $50 million ransomware attack last month.
Its activities had previously led to the group generating more than $100 million in one year from extorting large businesses, including the infamous Travelex hack in January 2020. The REvil group has plans to raise its overall income to more than $2 billion over 2021.
-
Hackers breached a 158 year old company by guessing an employee password – experts say it’s a ‘pertinent reminder’ of the devastating impact of cyber crimeNews A Panorama documentary exposed hackers' techniques and talked to the teams trying to tackle them
-
The ransomware boom shows no signs of letting up – and these groups are causing the most chaosNews Thousands of ransomware cases have already been posted on the dark web this year
-
Everything we know about the Ingram Micro cyber attack so farNews A cyber attack on Ingram Micro severely disrupted operations and has been claimed by the SafePay ransomware group.
-
A prolific ransomware group says it’s shutting down and giving out free decryption keys to victims – but cyber experts warn it's not exactly a 'gesture of goodwill'
News The Hunters International ransomware group is rebranding and switching tactics
-
Swiss government data published following supply chain attack – here’s what we know about the culpritsNews Radix, a non-profit organization in the health promotion sector, supplies a number of federal offices, whose data has apparently been accessed.
-
Ransomware victims are getting better at haggling with hackersNews While nearly half of companies paid a ransom to get their data back last year, victims are taking an increasingly hard line with hackers to strike fair deals.
-
LockBit data dump reveals a treasure trove of intel on the notorious hacker groupNews An analysis of May's SQL database dump shows how much LockBit was really making
-
‘I take pleasure in thinking I can rid society of at least some of them’: A cyber vigilante is dumping information on notorious ransomware criminals – and security experts say police will be keeping close tabsNews An anonymous whistleblower has released large amounts of data allegedly linked to the ransomware gangs
